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I woke up one morning
All my fingers rotting
I woke up a dying man, without a chance
I came to your window
Threw a stone and waited
At the door, a stranger stood
The stranger's voice said nothing good
I turned to walk the frozen ground alone
All the way home
Wide eyed walker!
Do not wander!
Do not wander through the dawn
Both my eyes are fading
No light in the evening
Planted like a seed in sand and drowned in rain
Watch you for an hour
He kept you beneath him
He kept you on lock and key
He paid the wage you send to me
And waste the day so idly alone
All the way home
Wide eyed walker!
Do not wander!
Do not wander through the dawn
Wide eyed walker!
Do not wander!
Do not wander through the dawn
All my fingers rotting
I woke up a dying man, without a chance
I came to your window
Threw a stone and waited
At the door, a stranger stood
The stranger's voice said nothing good
I turned to walk the frozen ground alone
All the way home
Wide eyed walker!
Do not wander!
Do not wander through the dawn
Both my eyes are fading
No light in the evening
Planted like a seed in sand and drowned in rain
Watch you for an hour
He kept you beneath him
He kept you on lock and key
He paid the wage you send to me
And waste the day so idly alone
All the way home
Wide eyed walker!
Do not wander!
Do not wander through the dawn
Wide eyed walker!
Do not wander!
Do not wander through the dawn
Lyrics submitted by casiopt10
Track duration: 02:49
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But, even if it doesn't I feel the message here is that a man realizes he's forsaken the love a girl gave him. He now realizes how much he wants that love but has to live with the fact that she is moving on. He feels as if the new man, is bad for her and that she is embarking on a terrible journey because she is naive having never known what love is.
I like
"I woke up one morning
All my fingers rotting
I woke up a dying man, without a chance"
As said above I believe it means he feels like he is beginning to fall apart, he is rotting and becoming disgusted in himself,
"a dying man"
"Watch you for an hour
He kept you beneath him
He kept you on lock and key"
He is forced to watch his lover being locked away with a stranger.
"He paid the wage you send to me
And waste the day so idly alone
All the way home"
I believe wage means love, he gave the love that she gave to him. That he is forced to return home alone, again.
What a spectacular song.
"He was so kind, such a gentleman tied to the oceanside
Lighting a match on the suitcase's latch in the fading of night
Ruffle the fur of the collie 'neath the table
Ran out the door through the dark
Carved out his initials in the bark
Then the Earth shook, that was all that it took for the dream to break
All the loose ends would surround me again, in the shape of your face" (Sim Sala Bim)
He left her, he went around reciting incantations, etc etc etc... He might or might not have found another woman. But now, he woke up one morning, realizing that his fingers are rotting, he's lost the life he used to have. He came to look for this woman(the narrator in Sim Sala Bim), but she was with someone else. The "Wide-eyed walker" line may have something to do with being surprised, amazed... the thing is that the line will be used again in "Grown Ocean", the strongest song in the album, if you ask me. The meaning of that phrase is still to be worked out throughout the album.
This song is a key song, cause he might refer to this person in other songs ("Someone YOU'd Admire", for example).
"The incredible care Pecknold put into the album was painstaking, creating turmoil in his personal relationships. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Pecknold admitted that his girlfriend of five years found the stress this album placed on their relationship too much, and ended things. Upon hearing the completed album, she realized that Pecknold's efforts were worth it and they are working it out.[3]"
-Wiki
However, I find myself agreeing with clearwaterlab for the most part. I think this guy has spent his entire life in love with her, but for some reason never acted on it. Maybe he was too scared, maybe he was busy doing other things, maybe he never was consciously aware. Either way, he's just suddenly had an epiphany that he must find her again.
"I woke up one morning
All my fingers rotting
I woke up a dying man, without a chance."
This correlates with the epiphany thing. One morning he realizes what's missing (he's been wasting his life, "rotting" without her). He's praying to God he's not too late, that this girl is still around, that he even has a chance with her.
"I came to your window
Threw a stone and waited
At the door, a stranger stood
The stranger's voice said nothing good
I turned to walk the frozen ground alone
All the way home."
This is where I break with clearwaterlab. I don't think she's with another guy. I think she's either dead and the stranger is a surviving family member, or she's moved away and the stranger is the new tenant. Just the "nothing good" part hit me with a feeling of finality. Now he walks home discouraged.
But honestly, it could definitely be swung in the direction of her being already taken. I don't know.
"Planted like a seed in sand and drowned in rain."
I think the seed represents his feelings for her. They could never become anything. It's impossible for a seed to grow and be fruitful if it's planted in unsuitable soil and over-watered/it's impossible for their love to thrive if she's moved away, died, or seeing another man.
Awww. Unrequited love is so sad :(
Ok, so this is all out of order, but I get the impression that the singer really liked this girl who was very innocent ("wide--eyed"). He warns her about wandering in the dawn for fear that she'd be caught by someone. She does get caught. He tries to help her escape, but is caught. He can then only watch from a distance.
This probably isn't supposed to be literal though. It's like he loves this girl, but can see that she is vulnerable. She ends up in a terrible relationship and is trapped there. The verses about dying and death indicate how helpless he is to stop this and how it affects him.
Perhaps Battery Kinzie is, to the singer, an indomitable force.